Kraft reverses Cadbury factory vow

Food giant Kraft has signalled the loss of up to 400 jobs by announcing the closure of a Cadbury factory - despite earlier promises to keep it open

Food giant Kraft has signalled the loss of up to 400 jobs by announcing the closure of a Cadbury factory - despite earlier promises to keep it open.

The US firm said it was "unrealistic" to reverse Cadbury's plans to shut the site at Somerdale near Bristol and announced that the factory would shut by 2011.

Kraft, whose five-month battle for control of the confectioner was sealed earlier this month, had pledged to retain the plant.

But it said Cadbury had already spent £100 million on building new facilities in Poland and most production would be transferred by the middle of this year.

Kraft said last week it would keep the Somerdale factory open but today chairman and chief executive Irene Rosenfeld said: "In our recent talks with Cadbury senior management, it became clear that it is unrealistic to reverse the closure programme, despite our original intent to do so.

"While this is a difficult decision, we have moved quickly to end any further uncertainty."

Union Unite reacted with anger to the decision and said it sent the "worst possible message" to 6,000 other Cadbury workers in the UK and Ireland.

Jennie Formby, Unite national officer for the food and drinks sector, said the US firm had "deliberately misled many hundreds of decent men and women" at the site by promising to keep the factory open despite union concerns that this looked impossible.

She added Kraft's "thirst for public approval during the most unpopular takeover we've seen in recent times" led the company to ignore those warnings.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson met Ms Rosenfeld after the takeover was sealed but failed to win a specific commitment on jobs.